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Duterte arrested for‘ crimes against humanity’
Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested after the International Criminal Court( ICC) issued a warrant accusing him of crimes against humanity following his notorious‘ war on drugs’. Duterte was arrested at Manila airport after arriving from Hong Kong and subsequently flown to The Hague.
Nicknamed‘ Duterte Harry’ and‘ the punisher’, Duterte was elected president in 2016 after promising on the campaign trail to‘ fatten the fishes’ in Manila Bay on the bodies of dead criminals( DDN, October 2016, page 8). Prior to his election, his long stint as the mayor of Davao City in the south of the country had seen him accused of supporting the extra-judicial killings of offenders. Human rights groups believe the total number of people killed in Duterte’ s brutal war on drugs may be as high as 30,000, with Amnesty International estimating that more than 6,000 people had been killed in the first six months of his presidency alone. He had recently been campaigning to run again for mayor of Davao.
A 2019 Amnesty report focused on 20 cases that appeared to be extrajudicial killings, pointing out that while the Philippines government had itself
MORE THAN 615 PEOPLE were executed for drug-related offences last year, according to Harm Reduction International( HRI). There were also almost 380 death sentences imposed, with more than 2,300 people currently on death row for drug offences worldwide.
Thirty-four countries still retain the death penalty for drug-related offences, says The death penalty for drug offences: global overview 2024. After some‘ cautious optimism’ in the years acknowledged at least 6,600 killings by police, the evidence pointed to‘ many thousands more killed by unknown armed persons with likely links to the police’. The following year, a report by Geneva-based World Organisation Against Torture( OMCT) and the Philippine Children’ s Legal Rights and Development Center found that, of more than 120 killings of children and young people that were carried out between July 2016 and December 2019, 40 per cent were committed by police and the rest by‘ unknown individuals, often masked or hooded assailants’, some with direct links to police( DDN, July / August 2020, page 4).
The ICC had been monitoring the situation in the Philippines since early 2018, and formally requested an investigation into crimes against humanity in 2021. However, Duterte withdrew the Philippines from the ICC during his presidency, with his lawyer stating that the arrest was unlawful and petitioning that he be returned to Manila. The arrest was a‘ long-awaited and monumental step for justice for
between 2018 and 2020 there has been a steady increase in executions since 2021, the document states, with the trend reaching‘ crisis levels’ in 2024 –‘ the deadliest year on record since 2015’. Known executions were up by 32 per cent from 2023’ s figure of 467( DDN, April 2024, page 5), and by‘ a staggering’ 1,950 per cent from 2020.
The figure of 615 known execu tions, however, does not include the‘ hundreds – if not thousands’
Manila, 28 March, 2025. Families of victims light candles and remember those killed under the Duterte administration ' s bloody ' war on drugs '. ZUMA Press Inc / Alamy
the thousands of victims and survivors of his administration’ s“ war on drugs”, which turned much of the Philippines into a nation of mourning’, said Amnesty International’ secretary general, Agnes Callamard. The ICC investigation, however, only covered‘ some of the crimes committed over the past decade’, she continued.‘ Former president Duterte was at the centre of a grave human rights crisis in the country, but he is not the only one suspected of criminal responsibility, nor have violations stopped since he left office.’
Drug executions at‘ crisis levels’
carried out in countries like China, North Korea and Vietnam, where state censorship means there is little chance of realistically establishing how many people have been killed. Iran was responsible for just under 80 per cent of all known drug-related executions worldwide, at 485. Days after the report was issued the Canadian authorities announced that China had executed four Canadians for drug-related offences earlier this year. Report at https:// hri. global /
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ON THE ROAD The anti-stigma roadshow See Beyond – See the Lives – Scotland visited railway stations in Glasgow and Edinburgh earlier this month, including testimonies from people who’ ve lost loved ones to drugs.‘ It’ s only by challenging the stereotypes people bring to substance use that the shame can be reduced,’ said Dr Hannah Carver of the University of Stirling.
DAYHAB DEBUT A new residential rehab service in Aberdeenshire has been opened by Scotland’ s first minister, John Swinney. Phoenix Futures’ 27-bed Rae House will be followed by a 53-unit‘ dayhab’ in Aberdeen. The services will ensure that people can‘ access life-changing treatment closer to home’ said Phoenix chief executive Karen Biggs.
BEACONS OF HOPE The Pen Y Fan recovery walk will take place in the Brecon Beacons National Park on 10 July, organisers Barod have announced. Participants are advised to wear appropriate clothing and footwear. Full details and registration form at https:// barod. cymru / events-and-conferences / recoverywalk2025 / seebeyondscotland. com
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